Chasing Annabeth Chase
by dashingaandthedamsel
Summary: It's been nearly two years since Percy Jackson accepted a life of immortality, and joined the Gods. But Kronos is back and growing stronger than ever with his new, more willing host, Annabeth Chase. Hades hath no fury, like a daughter of Athena, scorned.
1. Midnight Rendezvous

**[A/N]** CAC takes place two years after the events of TLO. If you have not read TLO and do not wished to be severely spoiled, then please, read no further. Also, please keep in mind that the ending events of TLO have been slightly altered, in that, Percy Jackson actually accepted Zeus' offer to become an immortal. Instead of proposing to the Gods that they recognize and claim all their children—Percy Jackson became a God himself. The proposal never existed. And for arguments sake, lets pretend Annabeth and Percy are between the ages of seventeen and eighteen years old. I understand that technically Percy should still be frozen as a sixteen year old forever, and Annabeth would have aged to be between seventeen and eighteen—but that's not going to fly with me, and I'm a bit uncomfortable writing it that way. So, put on your imagination caps—and pretend! Okay? Enjoy.

**I. Midnight Rendezvous**

A soft, emerald light, danced across the ceiling of a bedroom he'd once been able to call home. In the still of the night, Percy Jackson quietly materialized, enveloped by four familiar, dinosaur-stenciled, blue walls. He was careful not to wake the rest of the old, sleepy apartment building, and out of pure nostalgia, climbed into bed.

_"Home."_ He thought, closing his tired, weary eyes, _"Home sweet home"_

He was early, and still had a few moments to himself before his scheduled midnight-rendezvous with Nico would be taking place. Anxious and impatient, Percy pulled into view, a tattered, Yankee's ball cap, folding it possessively into his hands. It had been burning a hole right through the back pocket of his jeans—and the mere memory of it, straight through his chest.

_"They don't have souls, like you and me." _She'd told him once after he'd defeated the Minotaur, _"You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Eventually, they re-form."_ Despite the numerous blankets he'd tucked himself beneath, he shuddered at the horrific thought raging through his chest. It trickled slowly through his veins, consuming his entirety. Unlike the hundreds upon thousands of Monsters he'd sent flying back into the dark ages—they'd always come back. They'd always re-form. But if he lost Annabeth—because of something so beautiful and so pure as her soul, the fates would keep her from him for an immortals eternity.

"Immortal." He said, tasting and rolling the seemingly foreign word around and about his tongue. The very word he'd been using to describe himself, regrettably as, for the last two years—but, that too, had been his choice from the beginning. Flashes of hot, white light, sporadically filled the dark room. Heavy, silver droplets of rain, streamed over the rooms single window pane. Menacing thunder clapped overhead.

_"Something must've happened on Olympus." _Percy thought dryly, rolling into himself. He'd found the sudden storm to be rather soothing, and in that moment, he slipped away. He dreamt of her, of course. Soft-pink, wry smiles. Cascading, wavy, honey-blonde tresses. Blinding light shot out around her.

_"Annabeth?"Percy stumbled now through an onyx-black field, hands outstretched, shielding the powerful rays ahead from view, "Is that you, Annabeth?"_

_  
Percy looked out into the darkness of the unknown around him. Nothing. Nothing for miles. But something was out there looking back at him, lurking away in the shadows, watching his every move—something evil was approaching. Percy turned back to Annabeth. The bright light that had been surrounding her dimmed. Percy lowered his arms, sprinting forward._

_  
"Annabeth! We have to get out of here! Hurry, take my hand!" Percy shouted, holding out his right hand, and searching for Riptide with his left. Terror filled her wise, gray eyes. Hesitant, Annabeth stepped back._

_  
"Annabeth? Annabeth—Trust me!" Percy yelled, frustrated, his heart pounding in his ears. The earth suddenly gave way. A fissure cracked open beneath her feet, and she sprung forward, staggering into Percy's arms._

_  
"Percy?" It was Annabeth's voice for the first time since he'd finally found her, holding her tight against his chest._

_  
"Annabeth?" He said, looking down at the crown of her golden head, relieved to have found her alive._

_  
"Percy..." She said again, and Percy knew then that something had gone terribly wrong. Annabeth raised her head slowly. She had turned ashen-white in color, and was quickly withering away into a small pillar of gray ashe. And as her lips crumbled away from the rest of her disintegrating face, like a century old piece of parchment, she whispered, "Save me."_

_  
"Annabeth!" Percy cried out, crippling with anger. Percy shook the ashe away from his hands, and the soft, foreign touch—her touch, that still lingered deep within his now empty palm._

_"Annabeth..." _He whispered, torn in between a fabricated edge, discerning dream from what was reality. Tendrils of wispy, gray smoke coiled around his body, and even though he was now immortal, death's grip felt more than imminent. Pain, suffering, and grief consumed him.

"Am I interrupting something?" Nico said, falling back into a chair at the foot of the bed, exhausted, "I can come back if you'd like? Let you finish up your nap—or whatever freakish nightmare you were having." Percy's eyes snapped open, shaking the dreadful feeling that the son of Hades had always brought with him away, and shifted to his feet. It had been the same, reoccurring nightmare he'd been having for the last two weeks—and he'd spent every waking moment since then, trying to decipher it.

"No. I'm fine." Percy said, stashing the Yankee's cap back into his jean pocket, and away from view. "You're late by the way"

"The Underworld is in a different timezone, remember?" Nico replied pointedly, feeling cut short for his services. Lightning struck the sky, igniting the small room, momentarily painting the four walls around them with light. And for that brief interlude, Nico could see the anguish in Percy's eyes, feel the pain strangled behind his tight throat, and knew, he too, had been there before.

"Oh. Right." Said Percy, he could feel the pressure underneath Nico's microscopic lens. "Well. Did you find anything?" Percy finished, hopeful.

"I mean—this shit can linger forever, can't it? Not to mention it's a real party killer." Nico finished, swatting at the leftover smoke, seemingly annoyed, and attempting to unsuccessfully avoid the question all together, "It's no good with the ladies either, I might add. At first they're curious, and then they sort of—just run."

"Nico." Percy chided.

"Fine." Said Nico, shuffling his feet, and tugging nervously at his thumbs, "But you're not gonna like it"

"I can handle it." Percy said, trying to pull the unassuring lines from his face. "Just tell me. I can handle it." Percy repeated, desperate to convince himself, more so than Nico. Desperate. That's what he was. More than anything—he needed to know.

"Nothing." Nico said finally, on edge, waiting for the coming explosion.

"Wait. What do you mean nothing? You're sure? You checked everywhere?" Percy stood, relief setting in.

"High and low."

"The Asphodel Fields."

"Nothing."

"Persephone's Garden."

"Please." Said Nico, offended. "I can't even get in and out of there with a mere pomegranate without being spotted. Trust me. Annabeth's not there."

"The River Styx."

"Nope. Not there either."

"Fields of Elysium."

"I told you already. Nothing." Nico said frustrated, pulling himself up, curling his long, thin, milk-white fingertips over the foot of the bed, "She's isn't dead. Not yet at least."

_"She's not dead."_ Percy chewed on that a bit.

"She's not dead." Percy tried them aloud. "Well, then, where in the hell is she? It means she's alive then, does it? She's out there alone somewhere, but I can't find her. I've looked everywhere. She must be in danger. I know she's fighting. She's fighting to stay alive, and she can't hide. Not without..." Percy gripped the ball cap behind his back, slowly turning to Nico. Anxiety crashed head-on into his chest, ripping the breath from his lungs.

Explosion.

"Shit! Dammit! Where the fuck is she!" Percy threw the now useless cap on the floor, angry with it—angrier than ever with Annabeth. He thought for sure it would lead him to her. He couldn't possibly understand. "Why'd she leave Camp? Why would she ever leave? Knowing what's out there." Percy said numbly, falling back onto the bed.

"Nobody stays at Camp forever, Percy. Maybe...maybe she felt like it was her time. We all gotta graduate sometime." Nico said carefully, reasonably.

"If she's not in the Underworld then I can _still—_

"You can_ still _do nothing." Nico interrupted. "You can't interfere in the lives of mortals or half-bloods. That's what Annabeth is, Percy—a half-blood. We shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't be doing this." Nico finished. He stared out the window, frustrated, unable to look into Percy's eyes , and tell him what he most wanted to hear. The truth. The truth was, that it was all Percy's damn fault, and he needed to hear it from someone other than himself.

"Nico. You don't understand. I have to find her. I can protect her." Percy pleaded.

"Well, you should've thought about that before you became a God, Percy Jackson." Nico lectured, turning to look Percy dead in the eyes. Animosity thick between them.

"That day. After the war. My decision—That's more complicated than you would like to believe, Nico." Percy replied, tersely.

"Oh, _right_. Lemme guess, Zeus offers you immortality on a silver plate, next to Daddy on the great and wonderful table of the Gods. Right. Complicated." Thunder raged among the skies, and Percy was certain Zeus had overheard them.

"I'd watch your little half-blood tongue, then." Percy warned.

"You were one too once. Before you abandoned us. Tell me, Percy. Did you even glance back? Did you even glance back at us before you made your _complicated_ decision. Could you even look at Annabeth?" Nico pushed. He'd been suppressing the rage he felt toward Percy. He remembered a time where they'd once been closer than two brothers, and now, how he'd thrown it all away.

"I did." Percy said quietly, almost embarrassed. "I looked back for Annabeth. I glanced back for her...but she had already gone."

"Good. Then she got out while she could." The moment he said it, Nico instantly regretted it. And not because two large, muscled hands were pinning him into the wall.

"Take that back!" Percy said at once through gritted teeth. Nico dissolved into a pillar of black smoke behind him, unable to keep the smirk from creeping onto his thin, cold, purple lips.

"It's good to see a human reaction from you every now and again—but killing me wont help you find Annabeth." Nico shrugged the wrinkles from his black, skull t-shirt, and stepped forward.

"I wouldn't kill you, Nico. But you sure as hell have a good way of knowing where to push my buttons," said Percy, leaning against the wall himself. "But I need to find her Nico. If I could take it all back I would. If anything, I need her to know that."

"I'll help you, you know that. Annabeth was like a sister to me. _Hades_, even Bianca's worried." Nico said thoughtfully.

"Bianca?" Percy said taken back, baffled.

"Yea, I'm actually in the Underworld more than any living person would care to admit." Nico began darkly, "Bianca's worried too about Annabeth, and I'm sure she wouldn't just let me sit back and watch without doing anything."

"Thank you." Percy sighed, relieved, sliding on his back to the floor.

"But I need to know—for my own endeavors—just one thing."

"Anything?" Percy agreed.

"Why? Why'd you do it? The whole_ God complex_?" Nico asked curiously. Percy nodded, and Nico leaned forward—closer to hear him speak.

"After the war with Kronos—after all the lives lost. I knew it wouldn't be the end. Luke did what he did because he felt abandoned by the Gods—his own father. I knew they would never change, and that someday it would just happen again. I thought that when the Gods abandoned you all again—I wouldn't. I would still be there to protect the future generations of half-bloods, but..." Percy swallowed, coming up short.

"But you forgot." Nico said quietly, wrapping their short story up, "And while you were under the sea—_bonding_--the Gods had forgotten their saviors once more. You'd forgotten us—you'd forgotten Annabeth"

"I didn't mean to. I got so caught up. Getting to know my dad. Catching up on everything I'd missed. I never meant to forget. I took it all for granted." Percy said, sadly enough, holding onto his chest—willing his heart to stop beating.

"Maybe Annabeth doesn't want to be found." Nico said, staring at the crumpled hat across the room, "She's a half-blood, remember? Hiding's what we're best at."

"She would never leave that. It was a gift to her from her mother—Athena. The only reason for her to leave that behind is so that she can be found. She wants me to find her—I can just feel it." Percy imagined Annabeth on a cold, dark street, fighting off attacks, and doing her best to blend into a society that had turned its back against her, "I'll find her. I have to. I'll do whatever it take to keep her safe. I must."

"I guess I'll get back to work then." Said Nico, strangling a small smile.

"Thank you." Said Percy, but Nico had already dissolved into a chain of dark smoke. Percy looked around the room, and pulled himself up to stand, swiping at the air and said, "He has_ gotta _stop doing that."

Muffled Footsteps scratched down the hall, closing in on the door. Percy knew, he too, had overstayed his welcome. "Percy?" Fingertips lightly tapped against the door, "Percy, is it really you?" Sally Jackson choked back the tears. She hadn't seen her son in the two years since he'd chosen to become an immortal.

"I've missed you Percy. I really have, and I know the rule about not interfering with mortals or other half-bloods, but I want you to know one thing. This will always be your home. This will always be your room. And I will always love you. That will never change."

"Mom." Percy thought. Just one of the many important people he'd thrown away in a moments split decision. He wanted to throw the door open and hug her with the human strength he remembered he'd once had—but he could never stay. He leaned down, dusting the crumpled Yankees cap off, and shoved it back into his pocket.

_"I'll make things right."_ He thought. _"I don't know how, but I will—and I'll start with finding Annabeth." _As the door creaked open, Sally Jackson peered in, and caught the glint of a small, jade-green light disappearing from view. The room was empty.

**[A/N]** Ta-DAH! So I'm finally done with the first chappie! I haven't written any fanfictions in a while, so I know it's not the best, but I promise future chapters will be better! With more badass Annabeth please! LOL! So have fun reviewing, and if you're going to tell me it sucked then at least tell me why? I'm really good with constructive criticism. So, just telling me it sucked isn't going to help me at all with my writing. THNX for reading!


	2. Poseidon's Palace

**[A/N]** Okay, first, I would like to state in my defense(which isn't too concrete to begin with)that I have never actually read through any PJO fics; browsed, yes. So I do apologize for the story being so cliché. I chose not to read anything PJO related until I knew where I was going with CAC, focused primarily on not being too influenced with or by my fellow writers. Guess the joke is on me, though. It's already been done! Imagine my humility? I can promise you all that I will be taking my story in a much more "darker" direction, and I apologize to any reader who may feel that they've wasted his or her time.  
That being said! Finally, I would like to thank everyone who took the time to review! I greatly appreciate it! I wasn't expecting any, and to find my inbox littered with reviews and alerts sent me flying into the kitchen to grab a tub of chocolate ice cream to celebrate with! Keep'em coming! Enough talk! Enjoy!

**II. Poseidon's Palace **

When Percy reopened his eyes he was no longer in his old bedroom, and contrary to popular, mortal belief—being hundreds and thousands of miles beneath the sea's surface—it was excruciatingly brilliant in color. Percy fell back into a soft mattress, gorging of lace-white sea foam, desperately attempting to shut out the vibrant palace he now called, _regrettably_, home.

_Tap...tap...tap._

"Enter." Percy commanded. He hadn't bothered to reopen his eyes—but her intoxicating aroma wafted toward him, and Percy felt himself, slowly, drinking the fresh perfume in.

"Melaina." Percy didn't even have to ask, opening his eyes to find her standing alone in the center of his private chambers, a chandelier of collected pearls, showered her with light. She glided, effortlessly forward, measuring a cup of sea foam into her palm, and playfully slung it into Percy's hair.

"Hey to you too, Laina." Percy said, but he could see that she'd missed him. Melaina was a Naiad, of course—and unlike her other two, rather sinister sisters, a very elegant and graceful one at that.

"You were away for some time. Longer than the night before, and on _that_ night...longer than the night before that. I worry for you, Son of the Sea God." Melaina said, her elven face grim.

_"Son of the Sea God."_ Percy thought, suddenly feeling diseased.

"I told you. Quit calling me that. Just Percy. Okay?"

"And I have_ told you_—I can not. You are the son of our Mighty Poseidon, are you not?" Melaina teased. She was stubborn, and the familiarity of it, frightened him.

"Yeah, but—"Then, Son of the Sea God, is your rightful name. What else should I call you? _Seaweed Brain_?" Melaina turned to tend the hearth, which glowed emerald green with Greek fire. A violent pang ricocheted through his chest and into Percy's stomach. A hole was beginning to open up in his chest, and he clawed at its edges, anxious to seal off the forthcoming pain—but it had been too late.

_"Annabeth..."_ He thought, tortured. _"I must find Annabeth."_

"You didn't find her, did you? That half-blood girl you've been looking for." Percy re-routed his attention to Melaina. She prodded the green flames thoughtfully, innocent in nature.

"How do you know that?" Percy said, tersely. He'd been doing his best to keep his, seemingly hopeless efforts, under wraps. He wasn't ignorant to his unlawful actions, however. Gods weren't _supposed_ to die, but he'd seen first hand how they could be reduced to almost nothing—cut up into tiny pieces, and scattered into depths of Tartarus. Parallel to the way Kronus had been disposed of. Percy shuddered at the thought of sharing a cell with the Titan, who probably didn't care at all for him too much right now, either.

"Melaina. This isn't a game. Tell me what you know." Percy instantly regretted his shortness with her. Melaina sprang to her feet, her pale face crimson with blush, and her long, wavy, raven-black hair fell behind her.

"There are only rumors...the Merpeople _do_ notice when their Prince goes missing." Said Melaina, startled. "You disappear every night. You spend every waking moment obsessed with that earthly_ thing_." She pointed to Annabeth's Yankee ball cap. Percy gripped it possessively. Instinctively. Melaina raised a pencil thin brow, proving her point.

"Her name's Annabeth." Percy said, defeated. He couldn't keep this from Melaina. Not his only friend in the entire palace. He was a fool to believe she would tell.

"So, it's true!?" Melaina shouted, initially shocked.

_"Shhh..."_

_"You'll be in so much trouble..."_ Melaina followed suit.

_"That's why it's a secret."_

_"If Triton finds out—you'll lose the throne for sure."_

_"He can have it."_ Said Percy, indifferent. Triton was Percy's half brother, and original heir to the throne. But everything changed when Percy had become a God. He was two years older than his half brother—making him first in line, eligible for the throne. Triton and his mother, Amphitrite, were relentless in searching for a loop hole that just could not be found.

"He can have it." Percy said again, "But, promise me one thing."

"I wont tell your secret, Son of the Sea God." Melaina said, quietly, feeling as though she were committing a heinous crime.

"On the River Styx." Percy added. He'd learned his lesson the hard way before. Melaina blushed feverishly, embarrassed by the requested oath.

"On the River Styx, I will keep your secret safe, Son of the Sea God."

"We have really got to work on that 'Son of the Sea God' business." Percy said, laying back into his soft bed of sea foam.

"I said before, I could call you Seaweed Brain, if you like." Melaina teased.

_"No._ You aren't allowed to call me _that. _Do you understand?" Percy interjected, his tone harsh. Melaina nodded slowly, not too sure why the name had offended him so much. She laid across the white marble of his chamber, resting on her forearms.

"Will you ever find her? The girl you're looking for?" Melaina pondered, tracing the specks of marble with her fingertips.

"I hope so." Percy said, tired, closing his eyes.

"I wish you wouldn't."

"What?" Percy asked, confused.

"I wish you wouldn't leave. I wish you wouldn't look for her. I wish you would just stay here." Melaina said, hurriedly.

"Why would you say that? _If you_—you _swore_ on the River Styx!" Percy said, suddenly anxiety-ridden.

"I will not break my oath to you, Son of the Sea God." Melaina looked up, calm. "We Naiads, the sea's current runs through our veins. And it is for this reason that I can see him coming for you—traveling through the waters depths in a barrel of dreadful smoke. He will take you, and you will find her." Melaina finished, dejected.

"Who's coming?" Percy jumped to his feet.

"A son of Hades."

"Nico?" Percy asked.

"Is he a son of Hades?" Melaina asked, curiously, and Percy remembered she wasn't Oracle.

"Yeah, he is. What's he coming down here for? Is he trying to get me busted." Percy felt like a rebellious teenager again—not that he ever changed.

"He comes with purpose."

"What's that even mean?" Percy said, frustrated.

"It means in the end, you wont stay. In the end you'll leave."

"Look, Laina. I don't even know what's going on yet. Give me a minute to figure things out." Percy said, pacing the chamber.

"But I've told you, Son of the Sea God..."

"Quit—Quit calling me that." Percy finished, annoyed. Melaina shrugged leaving him to his thoughts.

"What if Triton comes to bother me? That could be problematic if I'm not here."

"I'll cover for you. You could be in a courtyard, garden, pavilion. _The Gods_ know we have hundreds." Said Melaina.

"You'd do that for me? I'd be right back." Percy turned toward her, relieved.

"Do you promise to return?" Melaina asked.

"I promise."

"On the River Styx?" Melaina countered with a feral grin.

"Oh, you're good. On the River Styx, I promise to return." Percy promised in spite of himself.

"Good." Melaina got to her feet, smoothing her ivory gown against the water's current, spinning with relief.

"How far is he out?" Percy asked, admiring her grace.

"A few kilometers now. It would've been easier if you had just brought him."

"I wasn't expecting him anytime soon." Percy stated, baffled that she would actually think he'd intentionally invited a half blood into the Sea God's realm.

"Well, you can count on a scene. You should leave as quickly as possible." Melaina straightened, "Here he comes!"

An explosion very much like thunder pounded overhead. A cloud of gray, gunmetal smoke erupted from the ceiling and out from its encasement, toppled a sopping wet, oxygen-deprived, hysterical Nico. Percy grabbed his shoulder just before the pressure could pop him like a balloon.

_"Percy...Percy..." _Nico said in ragged, cold, short breaths.

"You okay, man? What are you doing coming in here like that? Are you crazy?" Percy held his shoulder tight.

_"I found...I found..."_ Nico stuttered, pushing his legs beneath him to stand.

"You found...?" Percy asked, impatient.

_"Annabeth. I found Annabeth." _Nico said finally. The light in Melaina's eyes died slowly. Percy failed to notice.

"Where is she? Let's go!" Percy yelled. All he needed was a location.

"Central Park, New York." Nico gasped. Percy nodded, securing a firm hand on Nico's shoulder. It'd be a real mess if he'd lost him down here.

"Remember your promise." Melaina reminded Percy, and with her head down, she quickly drifted from the chamber and into the hall corridor. Percy licked his lips, and could taste a new salt in the water.

"What's that about?" Nico asked.

"Nothing. Let's go." Percy replied.

They shot off like a geyser above Poseidon's Palace. Garden's of coral colonies and glowing sea plants disappeared beneath them. The realm's Merpeople resembled tiny specks of plankton, and the palace lights eventually faded from view. Percy waited to materialize until they were a bit further away at the risk of being noticed.

When Percy released Nico, they were both standing on solid ground, kneeling behind a bronze statue. Peering around the man's chubby waste, Percy could see Annabeth. He lunged half way around the statue when Nico suddenly pulled him back. Nico shook his head, holding up his hand, and mouthed the words, _"Wait. Just wait."_ Percy nodded that he understood.

Annabeth was sitting on a park bench, eyes closed, hands folded, and _surrounded_ by twenty dracaenae. Annabeth continued to rest, unphased by the nasty company she kept.

_"We have to help her, Nico. She's in some sort of trance."_ Percy said, anxious to take her in his arms where he knew she'd be safe from harm. His back pocket began to itch, and he felt for her ball cap. Percy quickly pulled it into his hands. _"Just get this on her head, and I'll do the rest."_

_"Percy—Look!"_ Nico blanched. The dracaenae viciously hissed together in unison. They'd been spotted.

Annabeth slowly raised her head—_golden eyes _glistening.

**  
[A/N]** I can't believe I even finished this. I'd like to add that the documnets I upload somehow leave out grammatical punctuations when I save them, so if you see a space missing a period just ignore it until I can get my computer fixed. Where I am staying is currently under a tornado watch, soooo...if I don't update for a while, just know that a tornado has crushed my computer into so many tiny pieces that writing would be a difficult thing to do. LOL! Hopefully, that wont happen. Okay, so yes, this was a much slower chappie. I've paced the whole story out, so some chapters will be slower, and others faster. Oh, and Melaina is a real mythological Naiad. I wanted to stay as true as possible to Rick Riordan's books, in that they have a lot of substantial truth to them. Okay? _So..._ Annabeth will be in the next chapter, a rather great deal of it too, so put your Percabeth helmets on! THNX for all the reviews guys! I definitely appreciate it! Until next time!


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